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A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Radical restructuring proposed

By John Ashby

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 17 - January 18, 1996

Members of the Faculty Senate heard what Effective Senate Work Group
representative Charles Goodsell described as "a radical proposal" at the
December senate meeting.

What Goodsell described was a reorganization of the university's governance
structure which would effectively dissolve the existing Faculty Senate. The
senate and several commissions that deal with academic affairs would become a
body called the Faculty Council. The council, unlike the Faculty Senate, would
be within the university's governance structure.

The Effective Senate Work Group was formed in response to concern that the
senate could be more effective. "The Faculty Senate and the governance
structure could be much more expeditious, forceful, and relevant to the life of
the university," Goodsell said.

The proposal from the group would involve "radical restructuring of that part
of the governance structure which deals primarily with academic issues. We are
not proposing any change in the power structure-the power would still reside
with the president and the Board of Visitors," Goodsell said.

The proposal would leave intact the following areas of the governance
structure: the commissions on Classified Staff Affairs, Research, University
Support, Public Service and Extension, and Student Affairs. The bodies would
continue to report to the University Council, the president, and the Board of
Visitors.

The Faculty Council, which would report directly to the president and the BOV,
would replace the Faculty Senate, Commission on Faculty Affairs, Commission on
Administrative and Professional Faculty Affairs, Commission on Graduate Studies
and Policies, Commission on Undergraduate Studies and Policies, and the
Advisory Council on Strategic Budgeting and Planning.

"We want to move from the dispersion of faculty participation in governance to
a plan which uses a concentration of faculty participation in governance,"
Goodsell said.

The proposal calls for a 25-member Faculty Council to be elected on one day,
with leaders elected at large, college delegations proportionate to size, and
standing committees to deal with academic issues.

"The new Faculty Council would have a much bigger role than the senate,"
Goodsell said. "The Faculty Senate now acts as a sounding board. The new
council would have a policy-review function."

There were no objections voiced by senators regarding the concept of
dissolving the senate in favor of the new proposed governance structure.
Questions were of a more practical nature: How would we get the administration
to approve of the new structure, how would fair college representation be
achieved, and would it be possible to clearly delineate faculty issues from
administrative issues?

No vote on the proposal was planned for the December meeting's agenda.